The history of VEF
The Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF) was established by the U.S. Congress after the announcement of the bilateral agreement on scientific and technological cooperation, signed by former U.S. President Bill Clinton during his historic visit to Vietnam in 2000. VEF operated in Vietnam from 2003 to 2016 and officially closed its headquarters office in Washington D.C. in 2018. The mission of VEF was to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the United States and Vietnam through educational exchange activities, which include:
- The flagship Fellowship Program, bringing about 600 outstanding Vietnamese nationals to pursue graduate degrees, mostly Ph.D., at more than 100 highly regarded U.S. universities with the goal of becoming leaders and pioneers in their fields.
- Visiting Scholar Program, bringing more than 50 exceptional Vietnamese postdoctoral educators and researchers to more than 40 renowned U.S. universities for self-designed professional development programs of up to twelve months, thereby boosting their research and leadership capabilities in science and technology.
- U.S. Faculty Scholar Program, offering almost 40 American professors from U.S. universities the opportunity to teach at Vietnamese universities, either through online or on-site programs, in Vietnam and on topics in the fields of science and technology.